The Assassin in the Library
by poi922
Summary: A library vignette...in which Harold has taken on more help, but it's not working out quite like he had hoped.


Disclaimer: Not my characters. Such a pity...

* * *

"Are you there Finch?"

Reese turned on the earpiece, brushed off his jacket and glanced one last time at the body at his feet. Not dead…not this one at least.

He had checked earlier to make sure there was still a strong pulse and now took a small packet out of his pocket to shove into the hand of the unconscious man. When the lax fingers wouldn't close around it, he laid the packet under the slack hand. It would have to do.

"Always…and Mr. Reese, I need…"

"Gotta go Finch. Carter's almost here!"

Reese cut off the earwig and moved quickly to the backdoor of the house as sirens shattered the early morning peace. Carter must have been in the area…the only way she could have gotten there so soon after he put in the call.

Loping back to his car, he turned on the ear piece again.

"Finch? All wrapped up. Reisling won't be taking on any more collection contracts for a while…hopefully not for a long time. "

"Good to hear, Mr. Reese. And I need you to come back to the library right away!"

"Something wrong Finch?" Reese felt his adrenaline kicking in at the sound of the uncharacteristic panic in his employers voice. He had come to rely on this audio connection with his employer, and in fact it had become a lifeline over the months as Finch relayed vital information pertaining to their cases. But his boss's voice was usually calm and confident; this...vibe...Reese was now getting was disturbing.

"No…yes... Just hurry!"

Reese was already sprinting to his car.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

"I'm here Finch!"  
The ex-op rushed into the room, skidding to a halt behind the software genius standing just inside the room's entrance. Finch's eyes were focused on the computer station.

"Problem?" Reese asked softly, hand on his gun and searching the gloomy room for danger. Clouds had been threatening to crash the cheery spring scene all morning and soon the library would be darkened enough to require turning on the inside lights. But for now, he saw only the deepening shadows.

And nothing else.

Reese followed his employers line of sight, but a quick glance still didn't reveal anything unusual. The large desk was covered with monitors and electronic gadgets, the rolling desk chair placed in front of one of the many keyboards. Finch's roost.

"Yes, we have a problem!"

Finch turned his body stiffly toward the ex-op. His brows furrowed, always a sign that he was agitated.  
"It's another body, Mr. Reese…!"

There was definitely anguish in his voice. "You need to do something!"

And he took another step back. One more, thought Reese, and his geeky boss would be outside of the room entirely. Something had definitely spooked the older man.

Reese moved closer to the computer station, leaving Finch hovering in the doorway. And yes indeed, there it was…partially hidden under the desk, shadowed by the oversized desk chair. He wondered how long his employer had been standing there, agonizing as access to his beloved computers was blocked by this corpse.

Harold Finch was the most intriguing, multi-faceted man Reese had ever met. Intelligent, insightful, focused, and with an integrity worth to emulating. But a tolerance for violence and dead bodies was not on Finch's list of strengths. And Reese didn't like seeing his employer this upset.

He assumed his most soothing tone.  
"Relax, Finch. I'll take care of it... You just wait there for a bit. "

He peered under the desk for a closer look, then stood up abruptly and went to the coat rack where he removed his leather gloves from his overcoat. He then proceeded to the kitchenette at the back of the room.

"You know who's responsible!" Finch said accusingly, raising his voice to follow the ex-op. "It's Charlie!"

"No doubt…"

"So how much longer are we going to put up with this?"

"I don't know Finch. How long?" came the unruffled reply. The rustling sound of heavy plastic being pulled from a cabinet overlaid the comment.  
"You're the one that brought him in, remember?"

"Thanks for that reminder, Mr. Reese. Most unhelpful…!"

Finch warily approached the computer station and gingerly pulled the chair away from the desk. The body was clearly visible now. He repressed a shudder as he rolled the chair around to the front and with a weary sigh lowered himself into the seat. Easing his stiffened leg to one side, he tried to focus on the sounds of Reese preparing to deal with this latest development. Anything to keep from thinking about that cadaver…

"I really thought he would be an asset. Help manage our…problem." Finch said unhappily.

"Well, yes. You have an assassin in the library. And that's always been the issue with hiring an assassin to control a crisis. At some point the question becomes…who controls the assassin?" Finch would have no idea as to just how true that statement was. And he was certainly not going to enlighten him.

Reese returned to the computer area, a large piece of plastic in his hands. Finch glared at it with trepidation. "Is that what you use to dispose of a body? I would have thought you of all people would be more creative. Even Megan Tillman planned to use…"

"I make do with what I have on hand Finch" Reese interrupted. "This is to wrap corpse and then I find a large empty dumpster somewhere to make it disappear." And it wouldn't be the first time the he had used such a method of disposal…but his boss didn't need to know that either.

Finch grimaced. Resolutely swiveling his chair around to face the hallway, he called out.  
"You might as well come in here Charlie. I know you're there!"

Silence greeted that command.

"Looks like Charlie wants no part of the clean-up…" said Reese, now on his knees and proceeding to roll the stiffening body onto the plastic sheet. "You know this was left here just to prove to you he's doing his job…"

"Well, I can do without this kind of verification, thank you very much!"

Turning once more toward the hallway, Finch continued in a loud voice, "And do you hear that, Charlie? Next time get rid of the evidence someplace else!"

Reese chuckled. No way was Charlie going to come anywhere near his enraged employer right now. Lifting the plastic wrapped body he left the room, to dispose of in what Finch likely hoped would be some far away location.

Slowly Finch rolled his chair back to its customary place, careful to place his feet anywhere other than on the corpse's prior location. A whole morning wasted. He needed to get back to work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Charlie watched the proceedings with aloof interest. His job was done. A swift and clean kill. What more could these people ask for?

And, no…he did not do "clean-up"! At least not his victims. Not part of his job.

He took one last swipe across his face, wiping off the rest of the rat stink. Then lifted his tail and silently padded down the hall. There was another one around here; he could hear it scurry behind the walls. It was just a matter of time before he'd score another kill.

He was proud of his work…he was the best. And this time he would leave it ON the desk!  
He was not known as The Exterminator for nothing…!


End file.
